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Prosecutor faces hearing over Vgenopoulos probe

Appeals court prosecutor Georgia Tsatani has been ordered to appear before a disciplinary panel to explain her handling of an investigation into businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos, the main shareholder in Cyprus’s Laiki Bank before it collapsed.

Supreme Court vice president Aspasia Karelou conducted a three-month probe into how Tsatani handled the case after Cypriot authorities complained about the prosecutor’s decision to shelve the investigation.

However, the process was complicated by the fact that Tsatani accused Alternate Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos of trying to intervene in her work. Tsatani also fought to prevent Supreme Court president Vassiliki Thanou from overseeing the probe that was then handed to Karelou.

The Supreme Court judge found that there is evidence to support the argument that Tsatani breached two disciplinary rules during her investigation, including her decision to take the case from the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, which should have been responsible for the probe.